fdbowie

Hi guys, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster and would appreciate any advice you can offer.

I have accumulated about 150K Milage plus miles over the last 2 years through travel and CO credit card spending. My wife just got her own Milage Plus card and has around 65K miles. I am trying to formulate a strategy on the best way to accrue miles and plan for a reward trip to China in United Global First (at the saver rate of 70K each way or 140K round trip.

We are looking at next year sometime, when we will hopefully have enough miles between the two of us (140K each). I have started looking at availability in June and July in 2013 and find that it is difficult to find tickets at the saver rate in first.

I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any advice you can offer.

1) Is there an easier way to find 1st class inventory than simply spending a lot of time searching each day 11 months out?

2) If I am lucky enough to book two tickets in first at the saver rate, should I try to select the 747-400 or the 777? I am constantly amazed when I see the double decker 747s and would love to fly on one of these someday.

3) Will we run into trouble if I try to book one ticket using my miles and one ticket using her miles? Is it recommended that I call to speak with someone at UA to book this (assuming I have the exact flights I want to book)?

4) Any words of wisdom on how to boost our mileage earning over the next year? We both have credit cards, although mine is still the CO branded card. If I cancel my card and then reapply 6 months from now, will I be eligible for another "signing bonus"?

5) How far out should I be looking to plan this (in terms of availability)? My dates are super flexible, although I would like to spend ~16-18 days in Asia if I am traveling for 22 hours to get there from Cleveland. My research on this forum suggests that I ought to try @ 330 days out (which would mean that I would want to search for RT availability at (330 days minus the length of my trip, or 312 to 314 days out) to ensure that I can get a round trip ticket in first.

6) How much better is first than business on a 747-400? Should I forego my quest for first and "settle" for business?

7) Should I consider flying into another airport in China? If we are able to go, I plan to see several cities and would be more inclined to fly elsewhere in CHina if the reward availability is enhanced.

8) Is 16 days enough to see China and possibly BKK?

Thank you for any help you can offer. Again, this will be wonderful surprise for my wife and I want to make our trip to Asia something that we will never forget.

ptrautne

When I went to china for a 2 week vacation I flew to PEK and stayed a week then took a train to Xian, then a train to Nanjing, then train to Suzhou, then to Hangzhou, then to Shanghai where I flew back to the US from PVG. Flying in to PEK and out of PVG worked well for me. I have flown on the 777 and the 747 and I liked the 747 because you were on the top floor when in business. I have never flown in first class so I can't say which is better.

rkkwan

A couple of points: Global First is in the nose of the 744, not upstairs.

Non-stop flights to PEK and PVG are usually 772. Even if they're showing 744 right now, that can always be switched. The only flights that are consistently 744 are to HKG, specifically from ORD and SFO.

So, if you're going to China proper, and not Hong Kong, forget about the 744. If you get it, fine; but don't expect it. And the sCO flights from EWR don't have Global First.

adambisi

Welcome to flyertalk!

1) Would you be willing to fly other airlines using your United Miles? Thai, Air China (not every one's cup of tea), Lufthansa, Swiss, ANA, Asiana have decent availability in first/business which may have a flatbed depending on the flight.

2)Are you more concerned with the meals and service versus being able to sleep comfortably on the plane in a nice flat bed seat? www.seatguru.com is a great resource to learn what type of seating is in first class on your specific flight.

3) Have you considered flying into Beijing/Shanghai and coming home from Bangkok. Then buy a one-way flight China to Thailand.

jiejie

Also, consider that June-July-August are peak months for TPAC travel on all carriers, all routes. Everybody else is going after award availability during that time. It's also not the best weather for China in most places. (Either too hot, too rainy, or both). If you can, consider lighter-loaded April or May instead, and you may find better availability on UA or other Star carriers. And much nicer weather in most of China. Failing that, go for Sept through early November (except avoid first week of October due to big National Holiday).

No, with 16 days you do not have time to visit China and Bangkok. Pick either China or Bangkok/Thailand/nearby.

1015-1k

2) As noted, the only way you'll see the upper deck on the 747 is in Biz class. The 747 schedules have varied over the last few years during the retrofitting process and I haven't looked into future months. You should be relatively certain of the aircraft sticking with the designated schedule once you book. If you book 777, to date you will be gambling whether it is new or old configuration. You absolutely want new configuration.

6) I think travelling in Biz class is a way better value and quite possibly better experience when travelling with your spouse. You are able to sit together and don't have to worry about climbing over a stranger or vice versa. First class is more separate from one another even if you get the two adjacent interior aisle seats. Both classes have lie-flat seats and the same AVOD system. You don't get soup in biz class however, but that's not worth thousands of miles in my book. As others have noted, however, do consider alternative carriers that offer better service.

7) UA flies into HKG, PEK and PVG. All three would be my top destinations for a first trip to China, and each offers a relatively unique experience. For urban destinations, these are the most foreign-friendly. You'd be fine with 2 or three of these, unless you want a more rural/natural/historic experience of the inland (yangtze river, guilin, or xi'an, for instance).

8) I think 16 days is enough, depending on your preferred pace of travel and whether you intend to go outside of the big cities. You could easily do 3 days in each of beijing, shanghai, hong kong and bangkok and see most of the major sites. However, I would not go to thailand and only see BKK... you've got to get to southern beach towns or northern mountain area. You could do 8 days in Thailand and 8 days in China if you limited yourself to 2 cities in each country. For instance [PEK or PVG] -> HKG -> BKK -> HKT

moondog

I've helped 8 people book Asia-US awards this summer, which have been surprisingly easy to snag a few weeks out (in spite of the fact that revenue fares are at an all time high -- starting in China).

Tips:

1) this site is free, and works very well
http://beta.awardtravelr.com/?refer=true

2) you don't need to book now; ~3 weeks in is the better approach, and I've never once failed to find flights... though sometimes the routings are a bit annoying (e.g. Wuxi-Beijing-Frankfurt-Philadelphia, for a friend originating in Shanghai)

3) first is easy as pie on many of the UA transpacs (it seems that nobody pays money for UA F these days); business isn't that hard either, especially if you're willing to go via Europe; economy has been a bit of challenge this year, but is still doable for those of us with creative minds

4) regarding creativity, ua.com would never suggest wux-pek-fra-phil to you; the only way to find stuff like this is to search segment by segment (in addition to the site referenced in point #1, KVS, ExpertFlyer, and ana.co.jp also work)

5) many people here would advise you to try to fetch seats on NH or OZ instead of UA
-I agree with this sentiment
-the easiest OZ route is generally SEA-ICN
-and, the easiest NH route is LAX-HND (problem here is no F, and HND-China flights don't connect very well with LAX-HND or vv)
-the second easiest NH route is IAD-NRT
-I'm sure you'll find something good if put some effort into it, though maybe not now (for next summer)

fdbowie

Thanks for your terrific replies. I am looking at direct flights from Chicago, which is dramatically improving F award availability. Two stupid question for you guys:

I looked at booking two one way tickets from ORD to Hong Kong for 70K each way *2 = 280K miles needed. I then looked at 3 one way flights (ORD to Hong Kong (F), Hong Kong to Bkk (BF), and Bkk to ORD (F)). The latter itinerary also is coming in at 140K miles a piece... Is there a reason I am not being charged for the Hong Kong to BKK trip?

Also, I have enough miles for my ticket and we are working on saving miles for my wife's ticket. Will I have any issues trying to use two different FF accounts to pay for our tickets?

Thanks again for your wonderful advice guys,
Fred